1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a device for aiding the visually-impaired, and more specifically to a navigation device for providing autonomy and mobility to the visually-impaired.
2. Background
Approximately 246 million people in the world suffer some form of visual impairment. Of these, around 39 million suffer from total blindness. A variety of means have been used, traditionally, to assist the visually-impaired in getting around as part of their daily lives. Such means include guide dogs, canes, memorization of locations in which the person will be traveling, and simple methods such as using twine or other objects to create paths that a visually-impaired person can follow in navigating a home, office, or other area.
Guide dogs can be expensive, and come with the responsibilities associated with caring for an animal. Canes may be useful in some circumstances, but are not ideal and can be dangerous to the visually-impaired individual in some circumstances. Memorizing the layout of an area is practical for only a few locations, and the usefulness of such an approach is limited in that changes to the memorized layout, such as, for example, movement of furniture, requires time on the part of the visually-impaired individual to learn the new layout. Ropes, twine, or other physical means of defining a path through an environment are time-consuming, inefficient, and can present obstacles to normal movement, both for the visually-impaired individual as well as others using the same space.